October 2022 - Redbytes Software

Posted on October 18, 2022 by rbsupadminnextjssite

Building a custom mobile app has become a norm among businesses today thanks to the increase in number of smartphone users over the years. If the statistics are to be believed, there are over 3.5 billion smartphone users in the world at present.

When you think of building an app for your business, you either approach your in-house development team or hire a developer or development company. Usually, the latter is preferred for the cost-effectiveness and other factors. And when you decide to hire a mobile app developer, the next dilemma is how to hire them. There are plenty of things to consider while hiring a mobile app developer, the primary one being “what kind of developer you need.” This involves the platform and programming language they specialize in and whether they would be able to meet your business requirements.

Read Also : Java Vs Kotlin What is Better for Android App Development

Speaking of programming languages, Kotlin is one of the most in-demand programming languages at present. Kotlin app development has seen immense expansion in the recent years and as a result, there has been an increase in demand for Kotlin app developers.

Before we go into the tips for hiring a Kotlin app development company – which this blog is pretty much about, let us know more about Kotlin and why it is popular among mobile app developers.

What is Kotlin

Kotlin is an open-source, statically typed, cross-platform programming language that has been designed to work in conjunction with Java. It runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) with which it integrates object-oriented and functional programming capabilities. Kotlin can be used as an alternative to Java for Android app development. The programming language mainly focuses on interoperability, transparency, security and tools.

Kotlin was released in 2011 by JetBrains – a company that is known to sell integrated development environments (IDEs) for programming languages. Kotlin soon became developers’ favourite and has already replaced Java in many software development projects.

Read Also : How much does it cost to develop mobile an app

What is Kotlin used for?

Initially, Kotlin was a programming language specifically for Android development. But soon, it became popular among Java app developers and has since been used to build different kinds of applications.

Android app development

Kotlin was exclusively used for Android development in the beginning for the fact that developers could write more expressive, efficient and safer code using the programming language.

Majority of businesses have a mobile app for their clients today since most people access the internet using their mobile devices. According to reports, about 70% of Android applications out of 1000 in Google Play Store use Kotlin. This means that even if Kotlin was being used specifically for Android app development, it would still be in demand like it is now.

Back-end web development

Java has always been the go-to programming language for back-end web development. However, Kotlin has found its way into server-side web development recently as developers find it easier to work with.

Kotlin involves modern features that allow developers to create quickly scalable applications on commodity hardware. Also, Kotlin being interoperable with Java allows developers to migrate an app to Kotlin one file at a time while the rest of the app continues to use Java.

Spring is one of the most popular Java frame works used for back-end web development. Kotlin also works with Spring as well as other frameworks – this means developers can continue to work with the framework without actually changing anything they are used to. Tech giants, like Google and Amazon have already switched to Kotlin for some of their server-side development. According to reports, developers have used Kotlin for backend development of 47% of the websites available today.

Full-stack web development

Like we mentioned earlier, Kotlin is used for back-end web development, mostly as an alternative to Java which has been used for the same purpose since it came into being. But that is not all. Kotlin can also be used for front-end development using Kotlin/JS.

With Kotlin/JS, developers can access powerful browser and web APIs in a type safe manner. Full-stack developers with knowledge in Kotlin can use the same language they used to write back-end code to write front-end code and it can then be compiled to Javascript to be run in the browser.

Data science

Java is the preferred programming language of Data Scientists to crunch numbers, identify trends, and make predictions. So, we can undoubtedly say that they would adopt Kotlin in data science as well.

Data Scientists can write code in Kotlin while using the standard Java libraries that they use for Java projects. The two popular data science tools, Jupyter and Zeppelin, used by Data Scientists for exploratory research and data visualization, also support Kotlin.

Cross-platform development

The recently released software development kit – Kotlin Multi-platform Mobile can be used to build cross-platform mobile apps. It allows developers to maintain a shared codebase, thereby sharing the logic of Android and iOS apps. Developers can compile apps that run across Android and iOS platforms using single Kotlin code base.

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What makes Kotlin popular among mobile app developers?

What are the advantages that Kotlin offer over other programming languages, making it a favourite of developers? Let us find out.

Open-source

Kotlin is an open-source programming language and has been undergoing constant updates. Also, when you hire a Kotlin app development company, the added advantage is the Kotlin community.

Efficiency

Developers are always expected to create apps in a timely and efficient manner. Balancing the two is not an easy task considering how the processes of debugging, trouble shooting and rewriting codes are time consuming.

Kotlin is an easy-to-learn programming language and it also allows developers to efficiently write codes. It lessens the code length by 20% compared to Java. The Kotlin compiler analyses the written code and completes the remaining code. This means developers no longer have to spend long hours to create apps and it also increases productivity. Another benefit is that the syntax is intuitive in Kotlin and the code can be tested in a shorter amount of time.

Interoperability

Kotlin is interoperable with Java. This makes it easier for developers to run their Java codes on Kotlin and vice versa. They just have to add class of Java on the Kotlin project they are working on.

The 100% interoperability feature of Kotlin makes it easy for developers to quicken the pace of writing code without any issues. This makes the development process a lot easier. Kotlin uses the Java library and tools and also provides backward compatibility for Java versions 6 and 7.

Extension functions

Developers can make use of the extension functions in Kotlin to add extra features to the existing apps without having to inherit any data classes. This allows them to easily release updates within a shorter amount of time.

Default parameters

The default parameters of Kotlin are of great use when developers pass arguments by name instead of index. This helps developers who have to write long codes with a function that has plenty of optional parameters.

Null safety

Null safety is one of the best benefits offered by Kotlin. Null pointers or null references in code are a developer’s nightmare. Kotlin helps save developers from making this costly mistake by eliminating the null references or null errors. Developers usually have to use null reference exception while accessing it when they work with Java. However, Kotlin removes the null pointer exception directly, thus improving the data consistency.

Smart cast function

Smart cast function of Kotlin reduces the speed of an app, while improving the performance. It identifies the type of function and performs the necessary operations that have been coded for a specific type. This helps improve the overall efficiency of an application. .

By improving the performance of an app, the smart cast function helps the developers save lots of time and reduces the app’s time to market.

Security

The frameworks of Kotlin keep apps safe from misconfigurations and device crashes, which are usually the result of typical programming errors. With Java, certain types of errors are bound to recur. This allows developers to build a robust app using Kotlin. Hire Kotlin developers to help you build secure and stable apps.

Read Also : How much does it cost to develop market app

Hiring a Kotlin app development company

Now we come to the main topic – hiring a Kotlin app development company.

Most businesses prefer hiring an app development company over a developer mainly because when you hire a company, you get a development team with roles that are necessary for your project – project manager, designers, developers,testers and so on. If you choose to hire people in each of these roles separately, it would cost you more and your app development project would go over budget.

So, what all are the things you must consider while hiring a Kotlin app development company? The most important factor is the skills, followed by experience, cost, and types of arrangements.

Skills

Hard skills

Technical skills are a must have for any developer. Before hiring a Kotlin app development team, ensure that they have the following technical skills.

Expert Knowledge in Kotlin and Java

When you hire a Kotlin app developer, it is expected of them to have knowledge in Kotlin. But the knowledge in Java is also required since Kotlin is mostly used with Java and because most Kotlin development projects also involve Java. According to JetBrains, 86% of the developers who use Kotlin also use Java on a regular basis. Also, most Kotlin developers were Java developers before. They switched to Kotlin because of its extra features like native support for optional and lesser code that make thing easier and also help achieve the same results as Java.

Well-versed in XML

Web and Android development depend a lot on XML markup language which helps support the layout of an app or website and also in parsing data from the database orserver. Therefore, it is necessary for Kotlin app developers to be familiar with XML and know how Kotlin is related to XML. Otherwise, all your efforts in finding a development team will go down the drain.

Experienced in SQL and Linux

Expertise in SQL and Linux is a must-have skill for Kotlin developers to work on website backend. It is better if you hire developers who are well-experienced in AWS, REST, and Apache Kafka. You can also go to your in-house team or a software consultant to know what more tools are necessary.

Knowledge of Android Studio and other Android tools

If you are hiring Kotlin app developers to build an Android mobile app, look for someone who has deep knowledge about the development environment and tools. The primary development environment they must be familiar with is Android Studio apart from other useful environments like Toolbar and Firebase. In terms of tools, the developers should be familiar with Espresso – the tool for automated testing and the like.

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Soft Skills

When you hire Kotlin app development developers/development company based on skills, it does not mean just the technical skills. You have to collaborate with the development team to get the best outcomes that align with your business needs. Also, you should be able to communicate with them and vice versa regarding the changes and improvements until you receive the expected results. Therefore, the following soft skills are necessary for Kotlin app developers to ensure good team work.

Up to date

It is necessary for your app to match the latest trends to stay ahead in the competition. If you have noticed, users mostly prefer apps that undergo constant improvisation in terms of designs and features that are currently trending. Therefore, the developer you hire must be someone who always keeps an eye on the latest design and functionality trends to come up with innovative and creative apps.

Considers user’s POV

The ultimate goal of any business is customer satisfaction. Most end-users of an app need not be tech savvy. So a user-friendly interface and features are usually what work for them. Therefore, when you hire a Kotlin app developer, make sure that they are capable of building apps by considering the end users’ point of view.

Time management and adaptability

A development team’s job does not end with creating codes. They are also responsible for providing technical support especially for back-end developers, planning and developing new functionalities and features, testing applications, and much more. And sometimes, even after doing everything perfectly, some issues or errors might arise. Kotlin developers must be able to adapt to the situation quickly and fix the issues as soon as possible.

Apart from the skills, you must also consider whether the development team you are hiring suits your business needs – this helps to make the development process more effective. You can do that in the following ways.

• You will be looking for developers with industry experience and it would be great if they could bring in the experience and knowledge while working on your project.

• Kotlin developers with prior experience in creating products like yours would be a great fit as they can use the experience and knowledge from their previous work in your project.

• It is easier to work with a team that shares similar values as your organization. It would help in easier collaboration, interaction and team work.

If you are looking for a mobile app development company that provides to-notch Kotlin app development services, we – at Redbytes Software are ready to help you. Redbytes Software has been in the development industry for over 13 years and has over 350 projects to our credit – thanks to our skilled and experienced development team.

We have so far served businesses – from startups to Fortune 500 companies, delivering the best business solutions to them that aligned with their requirements. We provide a variety of development services, Kotlin app development being one of them. Our Kotlin app development services include Kotlin custom app development, app migration to Kotlin, Kotlin enterprise apps, maintenance and support and more.

It is necessary to hire a team of dedicated developers to build Kotlin apps. After all, you cannot risk your money, time and efforts to end up with an app with errors leading to lesser productivity and your organization’s reputation at stake. You can hire our developers who are well-versed in Kotlin and other programming languages and are capable of working across all popular platforms and will be with you through the development process and beyond. If you would like to hire us to build your dream Kotlin app, do get in touch with us.

Posted on October 10, 2022 by rbsupadminnextjssite

After Pokemon Go hit the game market, the new genre of games came into existence and altered the traditional perception about games in general. Pokemon Go made millions of game enthusiasts to leave their premise and roam around from place to place to catch some peculiar fantasy animal on their mobile screen. The game became unbelievably popular and inspired a trend of mobile game development that involves built-in GPS, real-time locations and objectives to thrill legions of game lovers all over the world.

After the gigantic success of Pokemon Go, many other game developers have introduced mobile games that rely on Augmented Reality to create a palpable experience for users. If you are intrigued to learn more about such exciting GPS location-based games,

here is the list of 15 best spectacular games you will love to try in 2018:

1. Ingress – Android/iOS

Ingress was born long before Pokemon Go spread its magic all over. This game is based on the Augmented Reality technology, compels you to escape your house and travel a great number of portals to finish the quest successfully. The game gives exhilarating experience especially when played with your friends and neighbours. The game interacts with your smartphone’s GPS system to track locations. Gamers can rely on in-built map to find hidden energy sources and also keep the track of progress made by other players. More you gain control over portals, more real world points you collect, which can lead your faction to be a winner.

The sci-fi theme of Ingress seems to more superior than Pokemon Go, and more robust and social. It has also earned the interest of wide global community over years.

2. Pokemon Go – Android/iOS

Developed by Niantic, Pokemon Go no doubt is the most beloved game for world’s zealous game players. It has quickly reached the acme in the world of outdoor dynamic games. Its popularity has changed the conventional functioning of mobile game development. Ever since it went public, the game created whirlwind of interest among the audience. The idea of hunting for an imaginary creature (Pokemon) through chasing real world places and nearly erasing the boundary between the tangible and intangible really appealed to today’s spirited gamers.

Pokemon Go has reached the record breaking downloads that touched close to 700 million. This is splendid success no less than a wonder. The historic success of the game encouraged new such game ideas for creative developers.

3. Zombies, Run! – Android/iOS

This is a thrilling mission based game that captures player’s attention through its addictive theme where a player plays a hero and runs away from hostile zombies. All missions have a narrated story that you will have fun with. In the game, zombies come chasing you. So you will need to show enough strength and run with a fastest pace possible to escape them. While you enjoy the story, the game will allow you to decide on the favourite background music from the given options. Zombies, Run keeps you free from focusing exclusively on the game moves and lets you do whatever you like while playing it. You can take a walk or job along the beach, or stroll in the park or potter about your house.

4. Geocaching – Android/iOS

We all have once loved treasure games when we were young school kids, and we did enjoy finding treasure. Geocaching brings the same time back in your life if you are still very interested to relive those moments. It is one of the best examples of location-based GPS mobile game development. You can have best treasure hunting experience if you have Geocaching on your smartphone. In this game, you can track and discover geocaches scattered at many places across the globe. With friends, this game intensifies and offers exciting adventures that you may fall in love with.

The best part is, you can send messages to your fellow players for hints about treasure locations. For members who really want to take their experience to next advanced level and gain higher access, Geocaching provides premium membership at a fixed price per month.

5. CodeRunner – iOS

CodeRunner is partially a game of intelligence as it explores the theme of account hacking and intrusive surveillances. The game manipulates the fact that we live in a digital world where our online operations often leave behind telltale breadcrumbs for government agencies, marketers and duplicitous to abuse. This is the ultimate theme for CodeRunner – espionage, hacking and surveillance.

CodeRunner treats you as a government agent and gives you a mission to spy on hostile agents using real locations. You can also interact with other players and know some part of their play. Like many other games, CodeRunner gives new concept to mobile game development. It gets even more interesting with involvement of more players in your area. You can live your personal spy fantasy with this excellent game.

6. Turf Wars – Android/iOS

Turf Wars as the name suggests has got surprising war-like elements and is a unique multi-player game. Here players can take absolute control over the real-world places in the game and even protect it from enemy mobsters (who are, actually, other players). Of course, we can’t take such actions in real life, which is exactly what this game offers you. Turf Wars leaves you with power to defend your territory from rival players, making your play even more addictive, exciting and fun. Inside the game, you can increase your calibre and defend your turf by using many different weapons and upgrades. Other players may have to pay for their protection and safety of their turf.

You can grow your empire and obtain massive leverage against law enforcement. In addition, you are entitled to sharing messages with your friends and enemies about game strategy. Turf Wars can appeal most to those who love to indulge in the game of power and ambition to build their personal empire.

7. Landlord – iOS

Landlord is surely a terrific game for entrepreneurial minds who want to be a powerful real estate mogul with skills, luck and intelligence. Players will receive substantial in-game cash that they can invest to buy some portion of landmarks, local buildings and businesses. In this online business game, after buying a bunch of properties, you can make players pay fixed rent when they check in at the location from Facebook or Foursquare. Players can expand their business value and be a giant tycoon by trading or upgrading their properties with amenities like WI-Fi, Karaoke or VIP clubs, etc.

Landlord definitely takes mobile game development to a great level. Here you can even earn referral points from players, and gradually, using your luck and cunning, you can be a superior tycoon in the game. Additionally, the game offers in-app s to get some more game currency using real money.

8. Resources – Android

This is another economic simulation game where you will explore your surroundings to find good resources and use them to manufacture new sellable products. In this multiplayer GPS mobile game development, you will scan your surroundings in the real world. Upon finding some useful resources (like mineral deposits), you can extract and process those minerals into products, encash on it, earn and ultimately upgrade your operations. You have a potential competition, though. Other players can attack, sabotage and even seize your land and build their mine in your area. You have a defence mechanism, too. You can hire workers to boost your power and vandalize other players’ mines.

Resources might be a product of brilliant GPS mobile game development, but it is somewhat complex. Hence, it may not interest children and therefore works better for grown-ups. Also, the resource community actively brings new updates now and then.

9. Parallel Kingdom – Android/iOS

Parallel Kingdom is another majestic game that is made exciting with dungeons and castles that are scattered across the medieval land. It uses the real world map as provided by Google Maps. It stimulates players with 40 riveting levels, dungeons, classes, leader boards, events and chat rooms and many more amazing features. Of course, you can choose to play the game indoors, but venturing outside the house results into real-world experience of adventure.

As you explore the nearby locations, you will encounter many enemy players vying with you in the game. The Augmented Reality game is around for quite some time. Therefore, players will not be disappointed in it.

10. SpecTrek – Android

SpecTrek is a mindblowing augmented reality game that makes you hunt for ghost. In the game, you will chase imaginary story ghosts as if it is the real world adventure. Think about Winchester brothers in Supernatural while playing the game. Ghosts are added in pre-defined locations on Google map. Users can also define their search radius and can play it in various sessions like 15 minutes, 3 hours or 8 hours. SpecTrek is a popular GPS location centric game that players (even kids) can play with their friends.

You just need to see to location and catch the ghost hiding there. You can track your progress, speed, distance travelled and even calories burned. Despite the fact that mobile game development experts are not regular in adding new updates to the game, SpecTrek makes chasing ghosts fun in real world.

11. Recoil

With the launch of the new gameplay ‘Recoil’, Sky Rocket is turning a new category of competitive gameplay. While using this game, the player can turn any outdoor location to multi-player battlefield using the GPS enabled features. As its digitally enhanced, the GPS enabled technology used in this game allows almost 16 players at a time to involve in the battle field of the recoil world. With features like real-time weaponry kickback, 3D positional audio and AR based game play methods this gaming experience turns out to be more explosive where reality has truly caught up to the imagination of the players.

So, definitely, this game is reinvigorating the gaming methods and makes users come out of the couch and interact with players in the real world

12. GPS Tycoon

This is a location-based game for Android users which work on the real world map of your neighbour. Once you register for the game, Google Map will be open and it divides the location into 4 grids. Once your grid is fixed, you can start buying lands. The land you own gets money which the player can reinvest in buying new lands. As it is GPS enables, to buy a land you need to be in that exact location and to keep winning you need to buy lands in wherever location you travel.

Another interesting feature of this game is that you have a leaderboard and you get to check the status of other players globally and according can target on buying more land and thus strive to reach the top score.

13. The Great Land Grab

If you are planning a road trip, then this would be one of the best interactive GPS enabled game that can top your game list. While traveling, you can claim lands and further will have to fight against the oppositions. The character called Ol’Henry will be your guide in the game who will help you navigate and come across the claim jumpers.

On the whole, this game is very user-friendly and can be played without any beforehand user experience. And the biggest wow factor related to this game is that it works on the real-time GPS location which will help you stake your claim.

14. Color Planet

This is a massive multi-player online GPS-based game. The main aim of playing the game is to collect resources from the scattered places on Earth and the worker needs to collect them and send them back to their planet in-order to save it. With the help of the crystal resources, you can either increase or change your capability or the worker’s capability from the base. As you send most of the resources back home, you start earning points on the leaderboard.

15. DominAnt

As the name indicates, this is a multi-player ant-controlling game that uses real-time location using GPS settings. Within the game, there are many species of ants who compete each other to get over the ground control. Once you start playing, you are one among them that will help them spread and dominate. The player needs to find colonies, expand them to breed, defend against enemies and other animals. When the colony that you have created becomes big, you can also start attacking other colonies.

Indulge in the best GPS-based game

The above is the quite a comprehensive list of some of the magnificent GPS location-based mobile games you can try this year on your device. Each game offers unique quality and features for players to enjoy, and is different in its architecture, adventure level and the way it interacts. The best part is, these games are authentic and improves your lifestyle and fitness by forcing you to step out of your doors. As the methods of mobile game development grow and Augmented reality integration advances, we can hope to receive more new updates, challenges and themes in upcoming games. For now, these group games are enough to make your time big with your friends.